Isolation, characterization, and heterologous expression of the biosynthesis gene cluster for the antitumor anthracycline steffimycin.

ABSTRACT: The biosynthetic gene cluster for the aromatic polyketide steffimycin of the anthracycline family has been cloned and characterized from "Streptomyces steffisburgensis" NRRL 3193. Sequence analysis of a 42.8-kbp DNA region revealed the presence of 36 open reading frames (ORFs) (one of them incomplete), 24 of which, spanning 26.5 kb, are probably involved in steffimycin biosynthesis. They code for all the activities required for polyketide biosynthesis, tailoring, regulation, and resistance but show no evidence of genes involved in L-rhamnose biosynthesis. The involvement of the cluster in steffimycin biosynthesis was confirmed by expression of a region of about 15 kb containing 15 ORFS, 11 of them forming part of the cluster, in the heterologous host Streptomyces albus, allowing the isolat

SUBMITTER: Gullon S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1489666 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature